1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to post mounted mailbox assemblies, more particularly to an assembly that reduces the damaging effect on a mailbox and post supporting the mailbox from impact by a stick or other object applied with force against the mailbox.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Daily, mailboxes are damaged or destroyed by strikes from balls, snow, passing vehicles, vandals, sticks, or other impact sources.
The prior art is replete with patented designs for protecting a mailbox and mounting post from accidental or deliberate lateral force or strike against the mailbox or the post.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,377 patented May 4, 1993 by F. R. Brecht describes a mailbox container portion mounted on a bellows configured so that the upright mailbox will laterally deflect when struck by a physical object and maintain its deflected state until physically returned to the upright position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,283 patented Jun. 1, 1993 by R. D. Gould describes a mailbox mounted on a lateral arm, offset from a tubular upper section mounted in a tubular lower section of an upright post for relative rotation about a vertical axis. A collar having an angled cam surface rotates the upper section about the vertical longitudinal axis between displaced and non-displaced positions under a normal bias of gravity. A spring attached to a transverse bolt or pin in the lower section and to a threaded follower on a vertically aligned threaded tensioning adjustment rod adds additional normal bias to the cam surface to bias the upper section toward the non-displaced position. An external spring is attached over the top of the upper section to the top of the rod and to the head of the transverse bolt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,072 patented Oct. 18, 1994 by F. P. Thomas describes a mailbox shock mounted on a horizontal post by a plurality of anchor assemblies. Each of the plurality of anchor assemblies comprises a compression spring mounted between a side wall of the mailbox and the post on a horizontal core. The core comprises a tubular shank on a horizontal nail that passes through the sidewall of the mailbox and into the post.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,206 patented May 2, 1995 by Latham et al., describes an armor clad mailbox mounted on a horizontal arm configured so that it hangs below the arm and is rotatable about the axis of the arm. The arm is mounted on a two piece vertical pole, rotatable about the vertical axis of the pole. The vertical pole is tilted slightly from normal to the ground so that the horizontal arm will rotate back to the lowest position around the vertical axis.